The Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) has announced reforms to its School-Based Assessment framework as it moves to protect the integrity of student work amid the rapid growth of generative artificial intelligence.
The changes will apply to School-Based Assessments completed for the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate and Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Examination programmes.
CXC said the reforms are intended to strengthen the reliability and authenticity of assessments as students and teachers increasingly use AI-powered tools in education.
Registrar and Chief Executive Officer Dr. Wayne Wesley said the council is not seeking to prevent students from using generative AI during the learning process. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that work submitted for assessment accurately reflects the student’s own knowledge, skills and effort.
The regional examinations body said education systems across the Caribbean are still adjusting to the scale and speed of technological change. Generative AI can produce essays, reports, research summaries, computer code and other material within seconds, creating new challenges for teachers who must verify whether submitted work is original.
CXC’s response is therefore expected to place greater attention on how students develop and document their SBA projects, rather than relying only on the finished product.
The council has not rejected the educational value of artificial intelligence. It has instead drawn a distinction between using AI as a learning aid and allowing technology to replace the student’s own participation in an assessed task.
School-Based Assessments contribute to students’ final grades in several CSEC and CAPE subjects and are generally completed over an extended period under the supervision of teachers. They are intended to measure practical skills, research ability, subject knowledge and the application of concepts taught in the classroom.
The reforms are expected to require closer supervision and stronger verification procedures as schools work to maintain confidence in the regional examination system.
CXC said the changes form part of its effort to respond to technological developments while preserving fairness for students across participating territories.
Further details on the revised SBA arrangements are expected to be communicated to schools, teachers and education ministries as the new framework is implemented.
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